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Cicada Health Tech Hub
Ask an Expert

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Welcome to 'Ask an Expert' at Cicada HealthTech Hub, where clinicians, researchers, and health tech founders can gain personalised advice from a panel of Mentors, Investors, and Funders. Engage directly with industry leaders, discuss your projects, and seek expert feedback in focused 20-minute sessions, offered virtually or in-person at the Westmead Innovation Centre.

Our Health Tech Experts

Connect with Brandon Capital

Brandon Capital is Australia’s leading life sciences VC, manages over $1 billion and has an active portfolio of more than 30 companies in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and digital health sectors.

Connect with Brandon Capital’s investment team to gain invaluable perspectives on what life sciences VCs look for in investment opportunities, receive feedback on commercialisation strategy, development plans, and commercialisation grant opportunities such as CUREator plus.

Additionally, if you are a researcher or clinician at the Westmead Health Precinct and would like to discuss your project in detail, please contact us to organise a 1:1 meeting with a brief description of your project, your affiliation(s), and contact details of the commercialisation manager/tech transfer manager at your organisation.

Prashanth Rajan, Analyst
Brandon Capital

Prashanth will offer you invaluable perspectives on the investment process and how to tailor your approach to meet investor expectations. He will help you learn about what life sciences VCs look for in opportunities, receive feedback on commercialisation strategy, development plans, and commercialisation grant opportunities such as CUREator plus

Brandon BioCatalyst, Australia’s leading life sciences VC, manages over $800 million and actively supports more than 30 companies in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and digital health sectors.

Availability:
In-Person at the Cicada HealthTech Hub -
Every Thursday morning | 30 minute sessions

Kea Dent, Director
KD&A Regulatory Consultants for Medical and IVD Devices

With over three decades of experience in the medical device sector, Kea possess a wealth of expertise, having worked as both a medical device manufacturer and regulatory consultant and QMS specialist for medical devices and IVDs. Kea can offer medical device regulatory solutions for manufacturers, sponsors, legal representatives, and distributors around the world.

She can help you with your medical device projects by providing:

  • Regulatory Strategy (TGA)
  • Product Certifications (TGA and global regulatory product)
  • Technical Files and Quality Management System (QMS) ( ISO 13485/MDSAP)
  • QMS implementation, certification, maintenance, and regulator audits

Sean Harris, Director
Prime Financial Group
 

Sean has worked in R&D tax for over 10 years, with a technical background in Biotechnology from QUT. The Prime Financial Group specialises in assisting life science companies with an integrated service offering, with a track record of working with hundreds of life science companies undertaking a broad range of clinical research activities in Australia and globally. Prime can help you with:

  • ESIC (Early-Stage Innovation Company)
  • advice, structuring of the company
    Virtual CFO
  • Accessing the R&D Tax Incentive & Loans
  • Annual financial and tax compliance & Capital Raising
  • Employee Share Scheme advice

Brendan Brown, Principal
Prime Financial Group

Brendan is a Chartered Accountant and Registered Tax Agent. With over the past 20 years at Prime, he has worked closely with hundreds of life science companies and has also built strong relationships with the Venture Capital and Contract Research Organisation communities, and was involved with successful companies such as Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, Fibrotech and Hatchtech, where he acted as Company Secretary, CFO and R&D tax advisor.

Sarah Cummings, Managing Partner
Thames Consulting 

Sarah has over 25 years’ experience developing and delivering products and services across financial, health and education for both large and small companies. She specialises in supporting startups and scaleups to create effective communications and impactful pitches as well as designing and implementing practical operational governance programs.

Sarah can help you with:

  • Communication strategy and collateral
  • Pitch decks and presenting
  • Defining and implementing operational governance frameworks and processes

Aaron Cheang, UX Research & Design Consultant
Personix

Design & user research experts at Personix can help you make more effective product decisions in successfully getting your product to your customers quickly. Aaron here can help start-ups like you by helping you:

  • Define your product/project problem
  • Identify your market segments
  • Optimise methods to get rapid feedback on your product
  • Ideate and create solutions to your product's problems
  • Test your solution(s) to get meaningful feedback

Denis Dmitrenko, Director
MedSec Testing 

MedSec Testing specialises in cybersecurity testing for Medical Devices. Denis has over 20 years of experience in delivering Cybersecurity, Software Development and Testing services across industries such as MedTech, Government and Finance. He leads a team of cybersecurity experts, software engineers, and testers dedicated to developing secure code and ensuring the quality and security of their solutions.

Denis can provide consultation for early developers on topics including, but not limited to:

  • Cybersecurity Strategy and Framework
  • Cybersecurity Regulatory Requirements for Medical Devices
  • Secure Code Practices
  • IEC 62304 Software Development
  • AI Platforms, Data Modeling and Analytics

Lukas Spoegler, Regulatory Affairs Expert for Medical Devices
Johner Institute New Zealand

With extensive experience across Germany and Australia, Lukas has managed international registrations and developed regulatory strategies across major markets, ensuring compliance and market access for every variety of medical devices, including Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), providing coverage across all related areas including technical documentation, and Quality Management Systems (QMS).

The Johner Institute New Zealand consists of a global team of experts, with representatives worldwide - including Australia and New Zealand, supporting both established companies and innovative startups, helping them bring their medical devices to market in a timely manner and in compliance with laws, regulations and guidelines. They can help you with:

  • Regulatory strategy development for global markets (e.g. Australia, Europe, US) including Regulatory Due Diligence
  • Quality Management Systems (ISO 13485)
  • Technical Documentation
  • Market access and approval pathways for medical devices
  • Knowledge transfer to enhance your team's skills through workshops or by providing access to the Medical Device University, an e-learning platform

Hayley Cameron, Medical Device Consultant
SeerPharma 

Hayley has over 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries with key roles and Management experience across a range of Departments including Production, Quality, Regulatory.

SeerPharma is a team of consultants that provide best-practice advice, training, software solutions and more to pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, assisting companies who are designing and developing new biotechnologies, medical devices and software as a medical device, to help companies take their ideas for new products to market.

They can help with:

  • Computer Systems Validation
  • Quality Management Systems
  • Regulatory pathways to market
  • Clinical Trial planning

Vanita Smith
Founder and Coach 

Vanita brings a broad range of experience from over 20 years in the innovation, strategy development and product development space in the Food and Health, as well as safety, compliance and auditing for early-stage business. She also runs a coaching business for professionals in healthcare and business to help them develop and implement their own Health and Wellbeing strategies.

She can help you with:

  • Understanding a clients needs
  • Dealing with burnout in companies
  • Ideation for start up companies

Bhavin Raval, Experienced CFO with startup & scaleup companies 

Bhavin is a seasoned CFO with over 20 years of experience in the biotech and startup sectors across the USA and Australia. Known for driving strategic decision-making and facilitating business transformation, Bhavin has played a pivotal role in senior leadership teams, including the noteworthy acquisition of Calimmune Inc. by CSL for a milestone based consideration of USD 416 m. Bhavin excels in guiding startups through critical phases of development and empowering startups to achieve immediate financial targets and establish a framework for long-term success.

What Bhavin can help you with:

  • Financial strategy and capital management
  • Operational excellence during startup to scaleup journey
  • Strategic planning, growth, exits
  • Risk management and mitigation
  • Investor relations and corporate governance

Connect in person with William Hird, Principal Patent Attorney, Davies Collison Cave

William is a patent professional specialising in engineering and materials sciences. His expertise covers drafting, prosecuting, and opposing patent applications, with a focus on mechanical, chemical, and process engineering. His engineering background includes extensive research on industrial biochemical processes, wastewater treatment, and fluid modelling during an exchange program at Ecole National Superieur d’Ingenieur Genie Chimique in Toulouse. 

Availability:
13 June 2024, 10:00 - 12:30pm

Location: Online or In-Person.
Innovation Quarter Building Level 3,
160 Hawkesbury Rd, Westmead, NSW 2145

Connect in person with Dr Gavin Recchia, Principal Patent Attorney, Davies Collison Cave

Gavin provides strategic advice to clients in relation to their patent portfolios, including advising on aligning IP and commercial strategies, and maximising the commercial value of IP. He drafts and prosecutes patent applications in biotechnology and pharmaceutical related fields, advises on patent validity and infringement, provides freedom to operate advice and conducts patent oppositions.

Availability:
25 June 2024, 10:00 - 12:00pm

Location: Online or In-Person.
Innovation Quarter Building Level 3,
160 Hawkesbury Rd, Westmead, NSW 2145

If your time is not available get in contact here to see what we can arrange. 


About Cicada HealthTech Hub

Located inside Westmead Health and Innovation District, The Cicada HealthTech Hub will be a home to early stage health companies, a space for collaboration and commercialisation activation, and a landing pad for industry seeking solutions to their research and business challenges. Helping to contribute to the vision of making Westmead a world-class innovation district in health and education.

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